Basic boxes out Rancho’s Barnes for Sunrise win

Basic coach Teresa Gallegos took all of two days to prepare for Rancho guard Khalia Barnes.

After that worked, now she has three days to prepare for another standout, Green Valley's Victoria Naylor.

The Wolves defeated host Rancho 56-46 on Monday in the Sunrise Region quarterfinals, limiting Barnes to five field goals and 14 points.

Basic (19-13) advanced to play Green Valley at 3 p.m. Thursday at Green Valley.

With a box-and-one defense designed to restrict Barnes, Basic did much more than that, forcing the Rams (10-13) into 17 turnovers. The box-and-one isn't typified by pressure, but the Wolves played ideal off-man defense, tipping numerous passes -- which they'll need to do against the Naylor and the Gators on Thursday in the semifinals.

"We are very disciplined at keeping our hands up, which makes it very hard to pass the ball," Gallegos said. "That's where we got a lot of deflections. And we work on being aggressive. When your girl has the ball, you are up in her face, up in her shorts."

As Basic's defense keyed its offense, point guard Lauren Johnson ran the team smoothly from out front. Last year the Wolves had fewer scorers, and Johnson was forced to look for her shot. Now, with Maya Darby (19 points) and Michaela Thomas (12 points, 13 rebounds) as offensive options, Johnson has improved her passing, taking the floor leader's role and running with it.

The Wolves were constantly sprinting the court, dropping in easy layups.

"I had to be a main scorer last year," Johnson said. "I like passing more. I'd rather get 20 assists a game than 20 points."

On Monday, she had plenty of attractive choices. Thomas was a force in the paint from the start, scoring eight points in the first quarter before getting into foul trouble. As the Rancho defense crashed down on the post, Darby found her groove on the perimeter.

"It was easy -- they didn't have someone as big as me," said Thomas, a 5-foot-10-inch sophomore. "I've been working on my post moves, and I was able to follow the ball and run the play."

Johnson added, "The perimeter game was a big part. If we weren't hitting, they weren't willing to go out there. It makes our job easier when we can hit layups when they struggle with turnovers."

• Tech 60, Desert Pines 55 -- At Desert Pines, Mechel'la Logan made four 3-pointers and finished with 29 points as the Southeast Division's No. 4 seed upset the Northeast champions.

Chalon Reynolds added 11 points and Cheryl Harless 10 for Tech (14-8), which plays Silverado (23-9) in the Sunrise semifinals at 6:20 p.m. Thursday at Green Valley.

LaBrea Walker led the Jaguars (15-6) with 16 points.

• Green Valley 77, Valley 49 -- At Green Valley, Victoria Naylor had 27 points and nine steals as the Gators (26-3) coasted into the semifinals.

Jazmine Jarvis added 19 points and Danielle Christenson 17 for Green Valley, which led 25-7 after the first quarter.

Vanessa Corona topped Valley (10-19) with 18 points.

• Silverado 66, Eldorado 56 -- At Silverado, Shea Collins compiled 28 points and six steals to carry the Skyhawks past the Sundevils (12-11).

Mikayla Thielges added 13 points and 17 rebounds for Silverado, and Jessica Schmidt had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The Skyhawks play Tech in the Sunrise semifinals at 6:20 p.m. Thursday at Green Valley.

Tonisha McGee, Sabrina Evans and Andrei Martin each scored 14 points for Eldorado.